Billy Childs and John Williams take awards at the 60th GRAMMYs

Two USC Thornton artists took home trophies at the 60th GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, January 28th.

Composition alumnus and jazz pianist Billy Childs (’79), pictured at left, earned a GRAMMY for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for the bebop-inspired Rebirth (Mack Avenue Records), which was released to critical acclaim last year.

And the venerable composer John Williams, a Thornton collaborator and honorary alumnus, won a GRAMMY in the category of Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for “Escapades For Alto Saxophone And Orchestra” from Catch Me If You Can. The arrangement, originally from the 2002 film by Steven Spielberg, was included on the 2017 album, John Williams & Steven Spielberg: The Ultimate Collection.